As I stand here today to greet you, representatives of the people of India, my mind is filled with emotion, and the recent past of India, with its travail and struggle, passes before my eyes. We meet in this sovereign Parliament of the Republic of India, and the high enterprise of serving our motherland and the millions of our countrymen has been entrusted to us, That is an immense and sacred trust and, as your President, I approach it with humility and prayer. On this historic occasion our thoughts naturally turn to Mahatma Gandhi and our hearts pay homage to him. Let us accept our great task in the spirit of the Father of the Nation, who brought us our freedom, and let us remember always the message that he gave us, the message of unity and goodwill between all the people of India, of communal harmony, of the abolition of class distinctions and of those based on birth, caste or religion, and the evolution of a peaceful, cooperative India, which gives opportunities of progress to all her citizens. It is the firm policy of my Government to maintain peace and friendship with all the nations of the world and to help in every way possible in the maintenance of world peace. The Republic of India inherits no enmities or traditional rivalries with other nations and my Government intend continuing a policy directed towards securing peace in the world and avoiding any alignment which leads to hostilities with any nation. India is a sovereign democratic Republic, but she has decided to continue her association with the Commonwealth of Nations. That is a unique development, new to constitutional law and history. Thereby we do not limit our freedom in any way, but we indicate our desire for continued friendship and co-operation with the group of nations represented in the Commonwealth. My Prime Minister recently attended the Conference of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers held in Colombo. That conference was an example of how independent nations can meet together and discuss, in a friendly way, the great problems that face the world and endeavour to find common ways of action, without in any way infringing the independence and sovereignty of one another. Our relations with foreign powers are friendly and my Government have exchanged diplomatic representation with a very large number of countries. Treaties of friendship have been concluded with Switzerland, a country with a great tradition of democratic freedom, and with Afghanistan with whom we have been bound by cultural and historical ties since the dawn of history. Negotiations have been proceeding for treaties of friendship and commerce with Iran, Nepal and the United States of America. As you are aware, my Prime Minister visited this great country recently and his visit led to a greater understanding and respect and closer ties between India and the United States. My Government have recently accorded de Jure recognition to the new Government of China and it is hoped that an exchange of diplomatic representatives will take place soon.